Author
Topic: Gaming philosophy (Read 1750 times)

I think what we are arguing about is the "threshold" of player character death and the reasons why the character died.

I think this is an interesting idea of yours, Moonhunter, to classify gamers by their views on certain matters. I think a classification based on game-philosophy might also reveal some diverse results.

I'd classify myself as a narrativist: for me, the storyline is the most important thing in the game. Afterwards people must feel like they have just watched a film, or experienced a different life. Therefore the story must be consistent, deep and multilayered, with scope for roleplaying. If the game-mechanics dictate the flow of events then they might disrupt that storyline, so tweaking of die-rolls is entirely acceptable. In fact most decisions can be made without die-rolls.

I know other people are more into realism (letting the dice rule: a character dies in the game just as they might in real life) or other such philosophies. I'd be interested to hear everyone's viewpoints on this.

ephe!

Logged

"Happy is the tomb where no wizard hath lain, and happy the town at night whose wizards are all ashes" - H P Lovecraft, The Festival

I find myself more of a storyteller, with cinematic influences. Rules are important and need to be worked with. They keep the game fair and balanced, as well as giving the troupe a common langauge/ frame of reference to resolve issues. However, to move the game beyond a human moderated videogame, you need to tell a story of some type and length. This engages the players emotionally, as well as intellectually. Description and maintance of the "beat" of the game are more important to a successful and memorable session than simple tactical/ numeric results.

An Aside:I personally find G/N/S as bankrupt theory. It fails to include all modes of gaming (those that don't conviently fit are quickly swept into one of the above, with a spin to minimize their impact). An RPG/ campaign/ or gamer has to be a combination of many things, and can not be pigeonholed so easily.

The Forge is a site where serious game designers congregate and hash out design elements and game theory. (There are some useful posts hidden between all this too.) It is the home of G/N/S (and luckly the disease has been contained there).